Sonic fishing bait

ABSTRACT

A fishing bait especially designed for jig fishing in which there is a vane pivotally secured at an intermediate portion of the shank portion of the fishing bait, the vane pivotally swinging back and forth between two spaced protuberances so as to alternately engage them to produce sound waves. The protuberances may be in the form of beads secured to and surrounding the shank portion of the bait. Or, the protuberances may be in the form of outwardly bent portions of the shank portion of the bait. The upper of the protuberances is preferably smaller than the lower one. The vane preferably has at least one aperture therethrough to allow water to pass through the vane and thus increase the ease with which the vane can move back and forth between the protuberances. The vane is preferably of metal and of a thickness of between 0.018 and 0.023 inches. The bait has a hook portion as well as a shank portion, and the hook portion and the shank portion are shown as being integral with each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is concerned with a sonic fishing bait suitablefor jig fishing. A movable vane moves up and down between twoprotuberances, successively engaging them to produce sound waves toattract the fish.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various patents have been concerned with producing some sort of sound inconnection with a fishing bait. For example, the Johansson U.S. Pat. No.3,363,358 shows a vane which moves back and forth as the bait is raisedand lowered. The problem with this arrangement is that the vane swingson a relatively flat plate and has to travel through a very large arc toengage this plate when moving upwardly. Consequently, the likelihood ofproducing any appreciable sound is not as great as it should be.Johansson is primarily concerned with the visual effect of the movingvane rather than the sonic effect.

The Strader U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,576 shows an arrangement in which thereis a spinner 26 which is disposed between two protuberances, but inwhich it is very unlikely to ever engage at least one of them. WhileStrader is concerned with making a sound, he provides an auxiliaryweight which moves back and forth within a conical housing to producethis effect.

The Bessler U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,139 shows a fishing bait in which apopping sound is produced. The popping sound is produced by a slidingmember movable upon a shank of a fishing bait.

The Cameron U.S. Pat. No. 1,857,939 shows a slidable weight, but it isprimarily intended for changing the attitude of the bait as it is movedthrough the water. It is supposed to produce an action very similar tothat of a diving fish.

The Mancusi U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,287 shows two parts which move back andforth with respect to each other. There is apparently no particularreference to the production of sound. Again, this patent is moreconcerned with the movement of the lure that results from the relativemovement of the two parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is concerned with a sonic fishing baitparticularly designed for jigging and which comprises a hook portion anda shank portion, the shank portion having a pair of spaced protuberancesand a vane pivotally secured at one end to the shank portion between theprotuberances and free to pivotally move from engagement with oneprotuberance into engagement with the other protuberance so that whenthe bait is used for jigging by moving it up and down, the vanealternately engages the protuberances to produce sound waves. Theprotuberances are preferably in the form of beads secured to the shankportion and surrounding the shank portion. In an alternate form, theprotuberances may be formed of an outwardly bent portion of the shankportion of the bait.

The vane preferably has at least one aperture through it to allow waterto pass through the vane and thus increase the ease with which the vanecan move back and forth between the protuberances as the fishing line israised and lowered. I have found it desirable to make the vane of metalwith a thickness between 0.018 and 0.023 inches. If the thickness of themetal is substantially greater than 0.023 inches, the noise produced isa relatively dull thud. If it is much thinner than 0.018 inches, thesound produced is of insufficient volume.

The vane may be secured to an arcuate portion secured to the shankportion and projecting outwardly from it away from the hook.

The vane preferably is sufficiently long with respect to the spacing ofthe two protuberances that the vane projects beyond each protuberance bya distance equal to at least one-half the length of the vane. In thisway, it is possible for it to be a large surface to be engaged by thewater to cause the vane to move between the protuberances.

The shank portion is preferably integral with the hook portion forsimplicity of manufacture.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from aconsideration of the accompanying specification, claims and drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved fishing bait showing thevane in various dotted line positions;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the fishing bait;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the improved fishing bait;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modifiedform of the fishing bait; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the modification of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, the fishing bait, generally indicated by thenumeral 10, is shown as comprising a hook portion 11 and a shank portion12. In the form shown, these are integral with each other. The shankportion is provided with the usual eye 13 at its upper end. The eye 13is designed to have a fishing line 15 secured thereto. Any suitablearrangement can be employed for connecting the line 15 to the eye 13.Normally, of course, a swivel connection is incorporated into theconnections.

Referring to the fishing bait, an arcuate member 16 is secured, as bysoldering, to the shank portion 12 at an intermediate part thereof.Mounted on the shank portion 12 and soldered thereto adjacent the innerends of the arcuate portion 16 are a pair of spaced beads 17 and 18.These beads may be brass hollow beads. The upper bead 18 is preferablysmaller than the lower bead 17.

A vane 19 has an aperture 20 through its inner end, the arcuate member16 extending through this aperture. In forming the device, it ispreferable to put the arcuate portion 16 through the opening 20 of thevane 19 and then to fasten the arcuate portion 16 to the shank portion12. The upper bead 18 is threaded over the hook portion 11 and movedupwardly on the shank portion 12. The arcuate member 16 is then placedin position on the shank portion. The lower bead 17 is then threadedover the hook portion 11 and is moved up on the shank portion until itengages the arcuate portion. The two beads 17 and 18 and the arcuatemember 16 are then soldered to the shank portion 12 and the upperportion of the bait, including the two beads and the arcuate member 16,are then painted to cover the various solder joints.

As will be readily apparent, the vane 19 is pivotally secured on thearcuate member 16 and is free to move up and down. This is shown byvarious dotted line positions of the vane 19. The vane preferably hastwo openings 22 and 23 therethrough. As will be noted from the drawing,the inner end of the vane which is secured to the arcuate member 16 isrelatively narrow. The vane is progressively widened until it terminatesin a curved outer edge. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the vane 19 isbowed slightly.

In use, the hook portion 11 has a suitable bait secured thereto. Thefishing bait of the present invention is then lowered into the water tothe desired depth. The fisherman then moves the line 15 up and downperiodically. When the fishing bait is lowered, the vane 19 swingsupwardly to the upper dotted line position of FIG. 1. When it is raisedagain, the vane goes back to the full line position of FIG. 1. When itis in its upper position, it engages the bead 18. When it is in itslower position, it engages the bead 17. The result is that a soundimpulse is produced each time that the vane engages one of the beads 17and 18. The primary sound impulse is produced when the vane engages thelower larger bead 17. The sound impulse produced by engagement of thevane with the upper bead 18 is, however, a significant factor in theoverall sonic effect created by the fishing bait.

As has been explained earlier, the apertures 32 and 33 allow water topass through the vane and thus increase the ease with which the vane canmove back and forth between the protuberances. Obviously, this affectsthe frequency of the sound waves.

MODIFICATION OF FIGS. 4 AND 5

The arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 is similar to that of FIGS. 1 through3, with the exception that instead of having separate bead members 17and 18, the shank of the hook is bent to provide two separateprotuberances against which the vane moves. Referring specifically tothe drawing, a shank portion 32 of the hook has a lower bent portion 27corresponding in function to bead 17. There is also an upper bentportion 28 corresponding to the upper bead 18 of the modification ofFIGS. 1 through 3. The shank is bent at an intermediate portion to forman arcuate loop 26 to perform the function of the arcuate member 16. Thevane 29 is pivotally mounted on this intermediate arcuate portion 26.Again, as with the previously described species, there are two openings32 and 33 to facilitate the passage of water through the vane 29 as itmoves up and down. There is also an opening 30 which is threaded overthe arcuate member 26. The bait has a hook portion 31 as well as a shankportion 32. Since the protuberances 27 and 28 are only on one side anddo not surround the shank 12, it is necessary to provide a further plate35 which extends between the inwardly bent portions of the shank 32adjacent the inner ends of the protuberances 27 and 28. This plate 35serves to prevent the vane 29 from rotating to the point where it wouldnot engage effectively with the two protuberances 27 and 28. The plate35 may be fastened to the shank portion 32 by any suitable fasteningmeans such as solder indicated at 38. This is done after the vane hasbeen threaded over the hook portion 31, the outwardly bent portion 27and onto the loop 26.

The arrangement of FIG. 4 requires special forming apparatus for thehook. In large quantities, it could be manufactured more cheaply thanthe arrangement of FIGS. 1 through 3, although the arrangement of FIGS.1 through 3 is easier to manufacture because it uses standardcomponents.

The effect of the arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 is exactly the same. Thevane 29 simply moves up and down between the two protuberances 27 and28, successively engaging them. Each time it engages one of theprotuberances, a sound impluse is produced.

CONCLUSION

It has been found that with both of the modifications of FIGS. 1 through3 and that of FIGS. 4 and 5, the attention of the fish to the fishingbait, when jig fishing is being done, is greatly increased. As is wellknown, any sound travels very effectively through water. The combinationof the visual effect produced by the swinging vane plus the sound wavesproduced by the vane successively engaging the upper and lowerprotuberances is very effective in attracting fish to the bait.

While I have shown certain specific embodiments of my invention forpurposes of illustration, it is to be understood that the scope of theinvention is limited solely by that of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fishing bait comprising a hook portion and ashank portion, said shank portion having upper and lower protuberancesand an arcuate part projecting out from the longitudinal axis of theshank portion between the protuberances, said protberances and arcuatepart being fixedly secured to, or integral with, said shank portion, avane pivotally secured at one end thereof to said arcuate part betweenthe protuberances and free to pivotally move from engagement with oneprotuberance into engagement with the other protuberance so that whensaid bait is used for jigging by moving it up and down the vanealternately engages the probuterances to produce sound waves, said vanehaving at least one aperture therethrough in the portion of the vaneextending beyond the protuberances to allow water to pass through thevane to increase the ease with which the vane can move back and forthbetween the protuberances and hence to affect the frequency of the soundwaves.
 2. The fishing bait of claim 1 in which each protuberance is inthe form of a bead secured to and surrounding the shank portion.
 3. Thefishing bait of claim 1 in which each protuberance is in the form of anoutwardly bent portion of the shank portion of the bait.
 4. The fishingbait of claim 1 in which the upper of the protuberances is smaller thanthe lower of the protuberances.
 5. The fishing bait of claim 1 in whichthe vane is of metal and the thickness of the vane is between 0.018 and0.023 inches.
 6. The fishing bait of claim 1 in which the vane when inengagement with one of the protuberances extends beyond saidprotuberance by a distance equal to at least one-half the length of thevane.
 7. The fishing bait of claim 1 in which the hook portion and theshank portion are integral with each other.